National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Provides More Than 10.2 Million Records to WorldVitalRecords.com

Posted by Spencer Quistberg on March 21st, 2007

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) Provides More Than 10.2 Million Records to WorldVitalRecords.com

Passenger lists, ship arrivals, and military documents, including World War II army enlistment records, to be available at WorldVitalRecords.com

Provo, UT, March 21, 2007 – - National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), one of the largest archives in the United States, has provided WorldVitalRecords.com with the first shipment of online genealogical records, including the Irish Famine passenger and ship records, World War II Army Enlistment Records, Korean War Dead and Wounded Army Casualties records, and other military records, totaling more than 10.2 million records.

“For the family historian, this new and improved access to these lists makes research much easier. Previously available in a series of books, or lost at the National Archives database, this new edition provides greater search capacity, allowing researchers to find all possible immigrants with just a few keystrokes. In addition, the associated list of ship voyages will help confirm or refute family traditions, permitting a more accurate history of a family,” said Kory Meyerink, AG, FUGA, ProGenealogists, Inc.

The first shipment of the NARA records was launched March 16th and will be free to access at WorldVitalRecords.com until April 6. The World War II Army Enlistment records cover 1938 – 1946. This series contains records of approximately nine million men and women who enlisted in the United States Army, including the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps. The Korean War Dead and Wounded Army Casualties database includes 109,975 records from February 1950 to December 1953. The Records of Deceased, Wounded, Ill, or Injured Army Personnel, Including Dependents and Civilian Employees database covers January 1961 to December 1981 and contains 293, 858 records.

“WorldVitalRecords.com has been working with NARA to acquire these records for the past two months. The military records represent a great cross section of US military personnel from all 50 states who served in wars and conflicts around the world. Almost every family has been affected by war and have some ties to these records,” said Yvette Arts, Director, Content Acquisition, WorldVitalRecords.com.

The Famine Irish Passenger Record File (FIPAS) database contains a list of 604,596 persons who arrived in the Port of New York from 1846-1851, as well as the ships on which they arrived. Approximately 70 percent of the passenger records list Ireland as the native country.

“About a million Irish immigrants left Ireland as a result of the Great Famine. Many Americans today are their descendants. Many have an interest in identifying their ancestor’s passenger arrival list and ship of arrival. This can be very difficult because Irish immigrants tend to have common names, and in the Famine period they tended to immigrate as single individuals rather than as family units. So it can be a challenge to know which â€˜John Murphy’ or â€˜Bridget Kelly’ was the ancestor. Being able to search the Famine era passenger lists with a relatively easy-to-use and flexible search engine would help mitigate this difficulty,” said Kyle Betit, professional genealogist, ProGenealogists, Inc.

These records contain information about immigrants, primarily from Ireland, but also include information on passenger arrivals from 32 additional countries including Canada, Brazil, Saint Croix, Russia, Morocco, the United States and countries throughout Europe.

“The abstracting and indexing of the so-called â€˜Famine’ immigrant passenger lists is a significant and useful tool for genealogical research. Considered the first of the great migration waves that arrived in the United States in the nineteenth century, these poor Irish immigrants changed not only their lives through their migration, but also changed the course of American history. The size of this new workforce helped propel America to the forefront of the industrial revolution. Many would later serve in the Union Army during the Civil War, adding great strength to the forces that eventually won that war,” Meyerink said.

At WorldVitalRecords.com, these NARA databases are part of a global search, allowing users to search all of the databases at one time. These records will also be enhanced with geomapping and the Google Book search features.

“We are very appreciative to NARA and the many individuals who helped to put these datasets together. We will continue to work with national and international archival organizations to provide greater access to vital records for genealogy enthusiasts worldwide,” said Paul Allen, CEO, WorldVitalRecords.com.

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Media Contact:

Whitney Ransom
Corporate Communications Director
World Vital Records

http://www.worldvitalrecords.com

whitney@worldvitalrecords.com

About WorldVitalRecords.com

Finding your ancestors can be overwhelming, and expensive. At WorldVitalRecords.com, we’ve made it easy and affordable for individuals to connect to their families and find answers to their genealogical questions. WorldVitalRecords.com was founded by Paul Allen, who also founded Ancestry.com, one of the leading genealogy companies. WorldVitalRecords.com aims to be a top player in the genealogy industry and will offer users international record databases, references to top genealogical resources, including Everton’s Online Genealogical Helper and Family Group Sheets and Pedigree Files, a blog planet, podcasts, videocasts, Webinars, expert advice, training, and user-generated content